Results 20,581-20,600 of 45,789 for speaker:Simon Harris

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Jan 2019)

Simon Harris: I do not accept that. We cannot build the hospital without the €1.7 billion to deliver all of the services for kids which they do not currently have. That is the reality. We should not have the parents of sick children watching these proceedings and presuming there will be very little additional benefit in children's health outcomes because that is not the case. It is also...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Jan 2019)

Simon Harris: I have heard the Deputy talk about the children's hospital purely as though we were counting beds. He should remember that the number of beds was not picked by me or plucked out of the air. The number of beds was designed with paediatricians in respect of what an appropriate level of-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Jan 2019)

Simon Harris: I will answer all of those questions and the Secretary General also wishes to comment on that. I will also come back in respect of other points made by the Deputy because I will not just let them sit with regard to the point about beds. In respect of the figure of €1.7 billion and to be very clear regarding the chronology, I have told my officials to share everything and anything...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Jan 2019)

Simon Harris: The short answer is "Yes". The Government rules nothing out in terms of trying to further reduce the costs of this project. When the Deputy talks about the figure of €1.7 billion, I need to point out it is not all Exchequer funding. I know it is a relatively small point but it is one I need to make. The Government has not signed off on a figure of €1.7 billion of capital...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Jan 2019)

Simon Harris: In fairness, the Deputy is consistent on this because he has asked every witness this question. I will arrive at my conclusion on that question, come back to this committee and answer the question when I see the PwC report. Why would I commission a report if I predetermined the outcome?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Jan 2019)

Simon Harris: That is factually incorrect. I will not stand over factually incorrect information. I have not known about this since August. I have known since August that there was an overrun. I have known since 9 November about the scale of the overrun and apprised the Government of that on 18 December when we made a decision. It is now January. We approved the project just before Christmas and I am...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Jan 2019)

Simon Harris: People are entitled to due process here. One has confidence in boards and individuals as they do their job. Should that position change, they will be notified first in that regard. I am awaiting the outcome of the PwC report. Maybe we can be slightly flexible with the time because I do not want to eat up Deputy Donnelly's time. I referenced, under the new Children's Health Act 2018 the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Jan 2019)

Simon Harris: A decision was taken by the Government to have an external review and the PwC report was commissioned by the HSE. I will ask the Secretary General to deal with the Deputy's specific question to which I do not have an answer. The Deputy made a point about not finding out about the cost overrun until this late stage. I must refer her to the Mazars report that points out the two-stage...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Jan 2019)

Simon Harris: Which two?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Jan 2019)

Simon Harris: I became aware of the overrun and the components of the overrun in November. The Secretary General has reminded me it was 9 November. With regard to my keeping in touch on the governance structures, the way the governance structure was established means the Secretary General chairs a steering committee and keeps me informed of the various components reporting to him. The Secretary General...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Jan 2019)

Simon Harris: I engaged with the Secretary General in accordance with the governance structures.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Jan 2019)

Simon Harris: That is what the Deputy would have done.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Jan 2019)

Simon Harris: How would the engagement have changed the reality? Expert reports were done and they gave me three options. I outlined them in my informal opening statement. They were to proceed, to pause or to retender. They were the three options that existed. Deputy Donnelly was right to ask whether there are other things we can do to claw back costs. We are very eager to look at this and we will do...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Jan 2019)

Simon Harris: Sure.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Jan 2019)

Simon Harris: If we are referring to people's watches, to be clear, the figure I brought to Government was €983 million. If the Deputy is going to talk about what happened during my tenure-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Jan 2019)

Simon Harris: The Deputy is asking-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Jan 2019)

Simon Harris: There was a moment when the Deputy promised I would have loads of time to answer her questions. The figure of €983 million was the figure that I brought to the Government in April 2017. The €1.4 billion was the revised figure of which I apprised the Government on, I think, 18 December when we decided to proceed with Phase B. That is the difference.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Jan 2019)

Simon Harris: The €983 million, yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Jan 2019)

Simon Harris: Yes, and that was all listed in detail at the time in respect of the Government decision. I hate this building a house analogy because it is intentionally oversimplistic. The Deputy has to remember we are not building houses. We are trying to do something unique and extraordinarily complex that we have never done before, that successive Governments have promised and not delivered, and that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Jan 2019)

Simon Harris: Correct.